ZAPU visits people affected by police brutality

The President of ZAPU Dr. Dumiso Dabengwa visited the families that were affected by the police response to some protesters on July the 6th.  He was accompanied by some senior party leaders and the provincial chairpersons of Matabeleland South and Bulawayo.

Dr. Dabengwa visited a family at Burombo whose child was choked to death by a teargas thrown into his house by the police. The mother of the deceased told the ZAPU President and his delegation that the police created a situationthat couldn't allow her to take her baby to a nearby Mpilo hospital until it was too late to save the child's life. When the woman eventually managed to take her child to Mpilo the boy died on the way. The child has since been buried.

Still at Burombo the ZAPU leader visited the family of a man who was also choked to death by teagas that was shot into the room the bedridden man was slewping. He had been ill and could not flee from the room as many people were doing. As of yesterday at the time of the visit he had not been buried.

The delegation then visited a family in Makokoba suburb whose property was totally burnt out as a result of a police teargas canister thrown right into the house through the window. The furniture caught fire and everything was burnt. Dr Dabengwa was told that the people were seated in the house when the teargas was thrown into their house.

They ran outside before noticing that their room was already on fire.  On being told by neighbours that their home was on fire they quickly called the fire brigade but it was denied passage by the police.  The family had a hard time trying to report the incident to the police who initially refused to listen to them. They finally made a report after going back for the 4th time.

The residents in the area where massive arrests were reported were forced out of their homes at night and made to sing the National anthem at gun point by the police. In a fashion perfectly like the one of Gukurahundi they were forced to sing it in Shona. Their Ndebele version was rejected.

Obviously this was not just sheer police heavy handedness. It was yet a clear message of hatred for the people in the area by the government as represented by the police.  Dr Dabengwa expressed his condolences to the affected and families, who for their part expressed their appreciation and happiness as they realised that ZAPU and its leadership was with them during this moment of shock and pain.
ZAPU Information Desk.